Moon Shadows are Evil

Ive been on a punk revival lately....
Old punk ....Minor threat, dag nasty, circle jerks, descendents, newer punk.... bad religion, pennywise, rise against.
 
yeah, the categories are blurred big time. I think pop punk is what blink 182 would be called. one that note, travis barker is an idiot.

I have listened to all of those epitath bands too, I was big on NOFX two heebs and a bean :rofl:
 
i don't care if you don't like jimmy. i hate most of 'songs you know by heart' and can't stand 'cheeseburger in paradise' which is what 99% of the world thinks he is. like him or not, not respecting a guy that has enabled summer to live 365 days a year and embracing bikini wearing and flip flops 24/7 is like throwing sand in the face of brown eyed girls, stomping on american pies and saying center field is the least desirable outfield position. who are you? the goddamn rooster?

the other jimi i listen fawking rules over all so whatever. that would be mr. hendrix. i think i own more of his music than anything.

i forgot about janes...love them...started listening to them towards the end of high school and never really stopped. agree with your assessment of smashing pumpkins. thinking back on this, i only really listened to siamese dream. after that, the infinite whatever it was blew. a two disc fawking shit show.
 
I did listen to fishbone some where in there. I may have read you a tad wrong, probably because of Phish and RHCP (although I did listen to the RHCP in 8th grade).

RHCP started for me in my first year of college, Mother's Milk. I think if you're objective, it was a great album with some absolutely solid stuff. If you liked Fishbone you had to like that album. Everything after that wasn't as good as that, and some of it was downright vomit-worthy. On that note...

I admit that I was doing a colossal amount of drugs when I listened to a lot of the newer RHCP and started listening to Phish. Somehow none of us ever much cared for the Dead, but Phish was really in that moment for many of us, specifically the album Rift. I recall one time in particular when a bunch of us had closed down the local bar in NB (the Ale N Wich) and I was hanging out with a few of the bartenders. We did some shrooms at whatever time it was, I think maybe 3:00 those days before the bars had to close earlier. Well I had gone into it pretty not sober to begin with. And after maybe 30 minutes I wasn't feeling anything. So I went home and went to bed.

Shortly after I woke up and I was in f'ing LaLa land. My roommates were sleeping so here I am, high as a kite, with nobody to hang out with - you know it's gotta be 4:00 am at least at this point. I put on some headphones and listened to a few RHCP albums, sat in out kitchen with magic markers, and proceeded to draw all over the entire kitchen, from top to bottom. I mean nothing that our kids would possibly dream of doing now. I don't even know where the hell I would have found magic markers at that time. Anyway, I just painted everything. I still remember how goddamn much fun I had sitting on the floor making a disaster of that room.

Jimmy mentioned that he'd love to hear more stories of my past. There's one of them. I just kinda remember them randomly like this.

I always wanted one of those sweatshirts that Belushi wore that said nothing more than "College". That would have been about a perfect time for it, even though I was technically post-college then.

FTR, I haven't done any drugs in a real long time. But they do make for some interesting stories. One day I'll have to tell the one about carrying a small TV all around New Brunswick. Or the time we went to see Blair Witch Project, then made the great decision to go camping.
 
That was priceless. Thank you 😀

edit: That was YouTube video was from when I was in my rave days. I guess early/mid 90s. I guess technically it's Hardcore Techno, then they started calling it Gabber or Speedcore as the genre's multiplied. People actually dance to that stuff, but I think you have to be doing massive amount of drugs.
 
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great story norm. I lack the personal drug stories, they more relate around my brother dealing drugs out of the basement window. There are some good ones from that though.
 
Here, the first 12 seconds even have something for Jake😀

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__WJE_4keWw&feature=related

Curse at the last couple seconds

that was some fine sh!t right there wall-e.

RHCP started for me in my first year of college, Mother's Milk. I think if you're objective, it was a great album with some absolutely solid stuff. If you liked Fishbone you had to like that album. Everything after that wasn't as good as that, and some of it was downright vomit-worthy. On that note...

I admit that I was doing a colossal amount of drugs when I listened to a lot of the newer RHCP and started listening to Phish. Somehow none of us ever much cared for the Dead, but Phish was really in that moment for many of us, specifically the album Rift. I recall one time in particular when a bunch of us had closed down the local bar in NB (the Ale N Wich) and I was hanging out with a few of the bartenders. We did some shrooms at whatever time it was, I think maybe 3:00 those days before the bars had to close earlier. Well I had gone into it pretty not sober to begin with. And after maybe 30 minutes I wasn't feeling anything. So I went home and went to bed.

Shortly after I woke up and I was in f'ing LaLa land. My roommates were sleeping so here I am, high as a kite, with nobody to hang out with - you know it's gotta be 4:00 am at least at this point. I put on some headphones and listened to a few RHCP albums, sat in out kitchen with magic markers, and proceeded to draw all over the entire kitchen, from top to bottom. I mean nothing that our kids would possibly dream of doing now. I don't even know where the hell I would have found magic markers at that time. Anyway, I just painted everything. I still remember how goddamn much fun I had sitting on the floor making a disaster of that room.

Jimmy mentioned that he'd love to hear more stories of my past. There's one of them. I just kinda remember them randomly like this.

I always wanted one of those sweatshirts that Belushi wore that said nothing more than "College". That would have been about a perfect time for it, even though I was technically post-college then.

FTR, I haven't done any drugs in a real long time. But they do make for some interesting stories. One day I'll have to tell the one about carrying a small TV all around New Brunswick. Or the time we went to see Blair Witch Project, then made the great decision to go camping.

dude, that's funny. just picturing pre cycling norm sitting on the floor with magic markers, drooling and wearing a big grin is killing me.
 
Ya norm, that is classic. More stoned norm stories!

I missed the whole stoned out of my mind scene. I tried pot 3 times....Twice nothing happened, 3rd time I thought I was on fire. After that, I just stuck to drinking.

What always amazed me about people who used drugs was the trust they would put in people....When I was in HS, I had a friend who would make LSD and sell it to people. This kid had the IQ of brain damaged turkey and people were eating shit that he was making in his bathroom. go figure.
 
Excellent shroom story. I did shrooms once, arguably the best drug experience I had. I guess that doesn't seem like a very sound argument at this point in my life. Regardless, my friends and I had a shitload of fun that night.

Now Ale n Wich was a pleasure I indulged in more than a few times. It was definitely my favorite NB bar. I often think about poking my head in there now and again, but I know I'd be horribly out of place. Like that time my wife and I walked into a bar in Upper Darby. Whoops.
 
that was some fine sh!t right there wall-e.

Jake, that stuff is over 20 years old, and a horrible copy. Here is some more recent stuff, maybe 2-3 years old. Keep the volume down there are a few bad words. See if right around 2:20 rings a bell 🙂

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njd2GtOGcKU

Sick of it All are one of those bands that have never gone soft, and even with limited radio play, etc. they still murder the gnar in the face
 
Friday
With all of the activity in my thread on Friday, I didn’t feel the need to post and my work load didn’t really allow it anyways. All of the music talk was good and it made me remember a few bands I would like listening to. However while I still listen to a lot of the same bands, I can’t say the person listening is that same kid from more than ten years ago. It got me thinking more about whom I am now and what my former self(s) would think of the current me. Does it even matter? Have I done myself right based on the values I had then?

Obviously living up to the idealistic values a person in their late teens / early twenties is just about impossible, but I do know that if we went on looks alone, my former self would think my current self is a tool. Mainly because I have abandoned really any of the fashion style that goes alone with skating/bmx/hardcore, etc…. I mean, jesus, the only time I wear a hoodie is to do yard work and maybe do trail work, otherwise I am just not one of those guys that wears that stuff around on a regular basis anymore. Hell, the girl beside me at work thinks I listen to folk music and other think I play golf, so obviously I ain’t giving off that vibe at work. My former self would be disappointed.

Relating to bike, no way would I have thought I would ever ride a road bike or even stop riding a 20”. Step back a few more years and I would have never thought I would stop skating. The mtb wasn’t a surprise because I started riding them before I got into 20”, but it is amazing how things change over time.

I do know one thing is that I think I have held true to the core values I had back then. I ran with the SXE crowd but have long dropped that label, even before I heard the tools in my office using the term. As with most groups, I found that the label just came along with way too many assumptions and stereotypes and I didn’t want any part of that. Also, unlike the people I used to know that were SXE, I was one of the few who didn’t drop the label because of starting to drink, do drugs or whatever else and I feel good about that. Really, the SXE stuff just fell in line with the convictions I already had. It wasn’t a trend for me, it was who I was. It was to show myself that I was not the POS was brother was at the time. Even now I am true to myself in that respect. While I have had a drink here and there over the years, it just isn’t me. I don’t get it. I stopped trying to figure it out. It just isn’t me and I am not saying it won’t ever be me, but it seems unlikely at this point.
So enough about that…

The ride
Was it some kind of joke on Friday that in the hour I rode it happen to be the only time during the day that it rained? I didn’t even think rain was forecast and it was clear when I lefty my house. A few miles in I noticed some spitting, halfway through my loop it was raining pretty good. It wasn’t enough to wet under the trees, but enough that I was starting to get pretty wet. It was in the 40’s and luckily I was wearing a wool jersey because otherwise I would have been pretty cold. I am still amazed about how versatile wool is. I am not going to go on about it now, but it seriously is a magic fabric. My feet on the other hand, were cold and soaked and while the socks I had on were fine for the temp, add the wet and they weren’t so great. I managed though but the rain did annoy me. It was clear by the time I got back to my house. WTF!

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/53918655

Sunday
No riding on Saturday as I had 11 hours in the previous 7 days and I think it was time for a rest. We also had a busy day planned that includes Curious George live and driving to my parents house and back. It was a long day, but a good one.

Sunday started out not looking good for riding since I did not get up early to ride since my son was up like 10 times. I did however ride in the afternoon and hit some wonderful roads in the Lambertville area. I pushed pretty hard in some spots and my legs were sore for a few hours afterwards. 3 small sections of dirt roads and the tubeless tires were great. I slid off a larger rock that would have surely caused a pinch flat or sidewall tear on a normal time but no problems with the intensive. Only thing to really note on this ride was some lady braking checking me at 40 mph on the descent into Lambertville. I ended up just passing her on the centerline. Come to think of it, I passed two other people on the centerline on pleasant valley road. Damn Sunday drivers.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/54326176

Monday
Apparently Monday drivers are not any better than Sunday drivers. I set out for my lunchtime TT since I have not done it for awhile. I saw the forecasted winds did not favor this loop, but I went for it anyways. I did a big 4 min warm up before I started the loop. Right off the bat some guy in a van was driving less than 25 mph on a local road. I thought about passing him, but I wasn’t going fast enough to make it stick, so I just stuck back for a bit. At the first intersection, he peeled out to show me he was tough. What a badass. Felt ok into Princeton, but that was expected due to something of a tailwind (more of a non-headwind). Coming down the hill from 206, one car was actually going the speed limit (25) and I ended up passing them and the car behind them on the centerline. I am not sure what is up with that, I have not passed someone in the center in quite awhile, now 5 cars in two rides. As soon as I turned back south and west, the wind started and when I turned onto 206 I was met with 2 miles of pure headwind and it murdered me. I pretty much blew my time for the loop on that stretch but kept on the gas til the end. 20.4 average which is alittle disappointing since I have done that a bunch of times before. The wind was a factor and I also had horrible luck with the lights today, only seeing green for 2 of around 13 lights. Still a good ride though.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/54350854
 
Tuesday
Wife had a meeting after work, so it was just me and the little one until 6:30 when my in-laws picked him up. After I picked him up from work, we grabbed a slice a pizza and went home where he insisted on working on bikes. I cleaned a cassette and mounted tires on the wheels I bought from Mare a few weeks back and fitted the fenders to my cross bike since Wednesday was looking to be wet. The wheels are dura-ace hubs with blue open pro rims. I converted them to tubeless with the stans tape and mounted the tires with little issue other than leaking stans sealant all over.
Ride did not happen until 7:00, which is about the exact opposite of the time I would normal ride. I opted for a short loop and the loop I picked was perfect from the strong winds from the ssw. I was cruising through the first part of the ride with a nice tailwind and I think around mile 11 my average was 21.3, so obviously I was getting some help from MN. I ment to turn outside of Hopewell but blew right past the road I had planned on, so improvised from there. Somehow I never caught a headwind, which doesn’t happen very often.

screaming man with beak and horns

Wednesday
As expected, work up to rain on Wednesday morning and headed out on the cross bike. This was my first ride since last spring with fenders. Holy hell, what a difference. Say what you will about fenders, but your feet and ass (more so your feet) stay much, much drier with fenders. It was 60 degrees out, so I would have been fine without fenders, but I was glad I put them on. It wasn’t raining to hard, but the roads were wet and the fenders kept me dry. I started on my normal morning loop and opted for woosamonsa instead of poor farm. A minute after I made that decision, I realized it was the wrong one since The Woos (as the locals call it, where the locals is defined by myself) has a heavy canopy and the wet road was littered with leaves from shoulder to shoulder. One a dry day, no biggie, but in the wet and rain, it pretty much sucked. To top that, I slid off something with my front wheel, which gave me a good scare and that something turned out to be a smashed pumpkin. I hit another one about a ¼ mile up the road. F’ing kids.

Since I picked a good route on Wednesday for the weather conditions, I decided to pick the worst route on this morn, selecting to take roads going directly into the wind. I also went over the closed bridge on 579 where the road leading to the bridge looks more like the forest floor then a road, which equals more wet leaves and debris. I also choose to go around the mercer county airport because an open field and tarmac are good for blocking wind. Anyhow, rode for about an hour, stopped home and then rode to work.

The Woos Pumpkins

Thursday
Apparently, Thursday is my explosion day. Last week I had a not-so-good ride on Thursday after riding the whole week and this week was the same thing. I felt better on this ride but I didn’t have the pep I normally would. It was warm though, so couldn’t complain about that. Rode through the golf course in Princeton, which was incredibly creepy with the moon light and fog. While riding past the chateau there was a loud bag from right in front of the building, yet I didn’t see anyone in the courtyard. About that time a car that was parked turned on it lights (in my head I heard that loud shriek that is used in horror movies) and started creeping out. This wasn’t helping that creeping feeling, so I boogied on out of there. Right before the exit, I almost got hit my one of the grounds keepers that was driving his chevy celebrity like a porche. He didn’t see me until I shined my helmet in his face (I was like 3 feet from the car) and saw this:
picture.php


Still felt like poo when I got to the office though. Damn that picture make me giggle though.

surprised monkey

Lunch time was not showing anything promising as far as stuff to read or people to talk to, so I ran an errand at lunch on the bike. 11 something mile on the road and canal and even went through a bank drive through on a bike. I could tell the people waiting in line behind me were perturbed. Felt better on this ride.

Personal Time
So Norm asked me about thing I do/like other than riding, my wife and the shower at work. I felt mad pressure to come up with something, but in the end I am fairly uninterested in anything other than bikes. Yes I watch tv, but I really don’t think anyone wants to hear about gossip girl and glee, so I don’t talk about that. I like things relate to skating, but I don’t actively pursue magazines or videos, but if I catch something online or on tv, I will watch it. Music is the same way, I always listen but don’t go much further than that. I like working on my house and in the yard and such, but not much more than actually just doing it. I do every project myself though and of all the things I have done in my house, I only had help with one. I am not surprised it was a surprise about doing FF this year and honestly I like doing it so if I do watch football, I have something to look for / cheer for. That has not worked this year though as I find I just don’t give a crap about football. I will watch some parts of games, but I am more interested in an amazing catch or play then I am about the score and who is winning and losing. But seriously, when it comes down to it bikes are the pinnacle of when I am interested in by far. I don’t know if that makes me boring or what, but it is just the way it is.
 
No, that's all good. This is a bike site after all.

I enjoy sports talk shows but I rarely eatch sports. And when I say "rarely" I mean like 3-4 times a year. I usually find it pretty boring. It was cool when there were many TVs, many beers, and many friends hanging out. But then you could have been watching golf or Emeril and it would have been enjoyable. Sports by yourself is pretty boring.

But again, I listen to a good 2.5 hours of sports talk radio every day. I guess I like the drama of it.
 
Don't say you're boring Kevin...

You enjoy you family and taking care of them and your home. That is a pretty big thing and shows you've moved past the "me me me" stages. (Of which I am fully in)

(Although I don't think anyone has ever been true selfless and not had a "me me me" moment)
 
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